Only God Forgives (2013) Review

Two years after his massive success with Drive, Refn brings us Drive 2: Bangkok Drift! Or at least that seems to be what people are expecting, but the truth is that it is far away from Drive. The only similarities would be Refn´s visual style, Martinez´ music and Gosling´s silence.

After hearing about the booing at Cannes and reading the first couple of reviews (who were mainly negative) I was very worried going into the film. In fact I was almost dreading seeing it based on what I had heard. For an opening night the theatre was surprisingly empty, though you could feel a sense of uncertainty hanging over the audience. As the film began, I was dreading it, however after 10-15 minutes I started getting what Refn was aiming for and the film went from being a jumbled mess to a rather captivating film.

For the sake of liking the film I think it is vital that you find the point where you understand the style so to speak. It is very dreamy, surreal, almost Lynchian at times, but not in a very direct way so that you find yourself not fully getting the right mind-set for the film. The film requires you to view it in a certain way I think, and so if you don´t it will come off as ridiculous, silly and empty. Throughout the film it borders on the line between horrific and silly, but if you are not with the film it easily topples over to silly.

The film´s style is so impressive that it works in its own right as a pure style over substance film. There is neither character nor a driving plot in the film, something that many have pointed out as the main problem. It is true that these two elements are absent, something that would break most films, however to my big surprise the film manages to be fairly interesting. While its character may not be interesting, it makes up for it in how it becomes a Freudian study in violence and sexuality. Through its surreal style it studies many sides of the simple human need for sex and excessive violence, as well as other Freudian ideals such as the Oedipus Complex.

Refn displays a master class in directing by keeping an unsettling surreal tone throughout while carefully placing these psychologically interesting elements beneath his immense style. He directs the actors in a way that make even them feel dreamlike. Compared to drive it one that asks far more from its viewer, perhaps a bit too much. It is not a film that gives you a whole lot to work with, but once you find the right set of mind I think you will come to realize this is far more substantial than it seems, while still keeping the jaw dropping style. You may even come to realize that it may in many ways be superior to Drive. Then again you may not, as others have noted.

4.5/5